This book provides a constructive analysis of Thomas F. Torrance's ecclesiology. Holding the doctrine of the Trinity to be the "ground and grammar of theology," Torrance viewed the doctrine of the Trinity as foundational for all ecclesiological reflection: What does it mean to be the people of the God whom Christians name as Father, Son, and Spirit? Tyler examines Torrance's development of the rich potential of the metaphor koinonia, involving both a vertical dimension--the Church's union with Christ through the Spirit--and a horizontal dimension--its visible existence in human history, lived out in space and time, and considers how the relationship between these two dimensions informs the structured forms of the Church's life, its ecumenical breadth, and its missional vision.

In this volume, Jason Radcliff examines T. F. Torrance's reading of the church fathers. Radcliff explores how Torrance reconstructs the patristic tradition, producing a Reformed, evangelical, and ecumenical version of the Consensus Patrum ("Consensus of the Fathers"). This book investigates how Torrance uniquely understands the Fathers and the Reformers to be mutually informing and how, as such, his approach involves significant changes to both standard readings of the Fathers and Torrance's own Reformed evangelical tradition. Torrance's approach is distinctive in its Christocentric rootedness in the primary theme of the Nicene homoousion ("of one essence [with the Father]") and its champion Athanasius of Alexandria. The book explores Torrance's inherently broad ecclesiology and constructive achievements, both of which contribute to his ongoing ecumenical relevance.

This book provides a constructive analysis of Thomas F. Torrance’s ecclesiology. Holding the doctrine of the Trinity to be the “ground and grammar of theology,” Torrance viewed the doctrine of the Trinity as foundational for all ecclesiological reflection: What does it mean to be the people of the God whom Christians name as Father, Son, and Spirit? Tyler examines Torrance’s development of the rich potential of the metaphor koinonia, involving both a vertical dimension––the Church’s union with Christ through the Spirit––and a horizontal dimension––its visible existence in human history, lived out in space and time, and considers how the relationship between these two dimensions informs the structured forms of the Church’s life, its ecumenical breadth, and its missional vision.

Torrance's vision of Theosis (deification/divinisation) is explored through his doctrine of creation and anthropology, his characterisation of the incarnation, his accounts of reconciliation and union with Christ, and his theology of church and sacraments. Myk Habets' study distinguishes Torrance's Reformed vision of theosis from other possible accounts of salvation as divinisation as they are found, for instance, within patristic thought and Eastern Orthodoxy. This book presents the first critique of the theology of T.F.Torrance to focus on theosis, and examines a model of theosis within the realm of reformed theology built upon Western theology.

In a context of scandal and decline, the Christian church cannot afford to do business as usual. It must regain its bearings and clarify its nature and purpose. Sacrificing the Church provides this clarity by returning to the church’s foundation: Jesus Christ and him crucified. It presents an ecclesiological vision in which every aspect of the church’s life flows from and expresses the one sacrifice of Christ. This sacrifice is the basis of every ecclesial experience, the form and content of the church’s life, a life which shares in the eternal Trinitarian life of God. By and as Christ’s sacrifice we are introduced into the divine life. This participation plays out in three key areas, which set the church’s agenda in the contemporary world: its worship of God (Mass), mission to the world (mission), and efforts toward the unity of all people, beginning with divided Christians (ecumenism).

This companion volume to T. F. Torrance's Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ presents the material on the work of Christ, centered in the atonement, given originally in his lectures delivered to his students in Christian Dogmatics on Christology at New College, Edinburgh, from 1952-1978.

Karl Rahner (1904–84) was one of the most significant theological voices of the twentieth century. For many his theology has come to symbolise the Catholic Church's entry into modernity. Part of his enduring appeal lies in his ability to reflect on a whole variety of issues in theology and spirituality and concentrate this plurality into a few basic convictions. This Cambridge Companion provides an accessible introduction to the main themes of Rahner's work. Written by an international array of experts, it will be of interest to both students and scholars alike. Each chapter serves as a guide to its topic and recommends further reading for additional study. The contributors also assess Rahner's significance for contemporary theology by bringing his thought into dialogue with many current concerns including: religious pluralism, spirituality, postmodernism, ecumenism, ethics and developments in political and feminist theologies.

A properly ecumenical theology, T. F. Torrance believed, points the church to Christ as the only source and reality of its own unity. Its only hope for unity must be discovered in him and unveiled to the church, rather than pieced together and manufactured through ecumenical slogans and well-meaning intentions. Acting on this belief, Torrance initiated an international dialogue of Reformed and Orthodox Churches, which culminated when the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Church issued a groundbreaking joint statement of agreement concerning the Trinity in 1991, a move beyond the filioque controversy that has divided East and West for a millennium. The current volume on T. F. Torrance and Eastern Orthodoxy continues the theological and ecclesial work of the reintegration of Western and Eastern traditions on a classical patristic foundation.

In The Church, Donald G. Bloesch explores with clarity and balance the contours of ecclesiology. He forthrightly takes up the most controversial of issues ranging from matters of church authority, the sacraments and worship to the church's place in the plan of salvation, the church and the kingdom of heaven, and church reunion.Evangelical in spirit, ecumenical in breadth and biblical in depth, Bloesch's work presents a theology of the church that calls for reformation and renewal according to the Word and Spirit of God.

A fresh account of the development of Scottish theology - from the Reformation to the nineteenth century. T.F. Torrance discusses the theology of John Knox, the Reformers and their immediate successors, the Solemn League and Covenant, the politicisation of theology, the Federal Theology of the Westminster Calvinists, the rejection by the Kirk of its profoundest theologian John McLeod Campbell and the continuing tension between Reformation and Westminster theology until modern times. He explores the nature of Scottish theology and the Scottish Enlightenment through studies of 'Moderates' and 'Evangelicals' and their relationships, Episcopalian Calvinists such as Bishop Robert Leighton, and the rise of missions to heathen nations. Throughout the book, the central themes are the doctrine of God and the atoning death of Christ, and the nature of the Gospel and of faith. Professor Torrance suggests how the Churches can find the way behind their divisions to this faith and to their Biblical and Reformation roots. His call for is for theological healing and reconciliation - to which this book is dedicated. The Very Reverend Thomas F. Torrance is Emeritus Professor of Christian Dogmatics at the University of Edinburgh.